


Neapolitan Ice Cream & Secrets

by DoorIsAjar



Category: citrus - サブロウタ | citrus - Saburouta
Genre: Angst, F/F, Family Fluff, Fluff, Ice Cream, Laughter, Secrets, Yuzu laughs a lot, soft, takes place after Ume knows of Mei and Yuzu's relationship, the angst isn't real
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 14:59:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15709581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoorIsAjar/pseuds/DoorIsAjar
Summary: Mei has her wisdom teeth removed. Cue nitrous oxide-induced hilarity.





	Neapolitan Ice Cream & Secrets

_"Mamaaaaaaa,"_ Yuzu cried, banging her head on the headrest behind her, "don't laugh! This is so embarrassing!"

"It's not embarrassing, it's _sweet!"_ Ume corrected as she flipped on the blinker to turn right. She pressed upon the breaks as the light changed to red and rotated around in her seat to peer at her two girls in the back.

She stifled a bundle of laughter at the sight that greeted her, for Mei - mouth stuffed with cotton and eyes half-lidded in the most adorably loopy expression ( _not_ that Yuzu would admit that with her mother in the car) - had buried her face within the crook of Yuzu's neck, fingers loosely gripping at the older girl's shirt.

"Mei-chan, how do you feel?" Ume asked, just as she righted herself back towards the front.

The response she received was nothing more than a soft moan, barely loud enough to reach her ears. From her rear-view mirror, she watched in silence as Yuzu brought a hand up to the top of Mei's head. The raven-haired girl's eyes slid shut, and Yuzu soothingly threaded her fingers through the inky strands of hair.

"Still hurts..?" Yuzu whispered.

"Mmm-hmm..." Mei mumbled, just as Yuzu planted a gentle kiss on the crown of her head.

"Still hurts, mama," she reiterated.

The light turned green, and Ume gently pressed upon the gas. "We'll be home soon, Mei-chan."

The care ride curtailed into near silence for the following few minutes, the only sounds being Mei babbling completely incomprehensible nonsense and moaning from her aching mouth. Just as Ume turned onto some back road - a short cut, she had mentioned earlier that morning to Yuzu - Mei squirmed, just enough to pull her face away from its hiding place.

"Do you...Do you want to know a secret?" Mei asked, breath heavy as she worked around cotton.

Yuzu, with as much restraint to her laughter as she could muster, lovingly rubbed at Mei's back. "Sure."

There was an elongated pause, and both Yuzu and Ume thought Mei had perhaps lost her train of thought through the haze of laughing gas still littering her system - but then a garbled sob broke the silence of the car. Ume's attention was instantly drawn to the mirror, and Yuzu began fumbling for her girlfriend's shoulders in a failed attempt to pry her off.

Her limbs froze, panic shooting through her veins as words tumbled from Mei's lips.

"Yuzu is so _beautiful."_

She had never felt her face flush so quickly, and the blush that colored cheeks only darkened as her mother began snickering.

 

* * *

 

By the time the three had parked outside their apartment complex, Yuzu was one compliment away from bursting at the seams. Her face was on fire, and she had begun sweating in embarrassment as Mei continued her almost incoherent ramblings (emphasis on _almost,_ as everything _except_ her flowery words of praise had been complete and utter gibberish). Slap any adjective at the end of "Yuzu is _____," and Mei had said it:

_"Yuzu is kind."_

_"Yuzu is cute."_

_"Yuzu is wonderful."_

_"Yuzu is pretty."_

But the blond's favorite, without a doubt, was _"I love Yuzu."_

Mei had said that one no less than ten times; and despite the flare in Yuzu's cheeks at her mother hearing every last unabashedly declared word of admiration, the heat would always die down at that one phrase. Yuzu felt...sobered as those words tumbled from Mei's lips, and her hold on the younger girl would tighten in the hope that actions alone would convey her own love to Mei.

As her mother pulled the keys out of the ignition, the older woman had turned around towards her girls; and the smile that she directed at Yuzu lifted the sweltering haze of embarrassment that had clouded the blond's mind for the entirety of the car ride. It was soft and gentle, certainly not some haughty, smug expression of jest; and when she spoke, Yuzu felt the type of comfort that only her mother could ever grant her.

_"She truly love you, Yuzu."_

The calm that settled comfortably within Yuzu's chest made her feel stupid for ever being embarrassed.

It was, to understate things, difficult to get Mei, well, _anywhere._ She could hardly remain upright while in Yuzu's care, let alone by herself; and while they managed to sling her arm around Yuzu's neck, her body was fully uncooperative. Her feet became tangled between one another, and her knees buckled upon first stepping out of the car. Yuzu carried her like dead weight draped across her side. While her mother's help would have been appreciated, she declined, bent on carrying Mei on her own.

The elevator ride up to their apartment seemed perfectly smooth to Yuzu, but Mei had felt compelled to inform her three times that "the room is rocking." The movement left Mei's stomach in knots, and she mumbled something or another about vomit into Yuzu's throat, where she had shied herself away. And as they opened the door to their apartment, Mei instantly began bending to slip off her shoes, effectively throwing Yuzu's already horribly afflicted sense of balance completely out of whack.

"Mei, stop!" Yuzu shouted, although even she couldn't shush a few giggles at her girlfriend's drunken-like fumblings. The poor girl was wearing _slippers;_ she didn't understand how Mei was managing to struggle so desperately.

"I have to get... Yuzu, my shoes won't come off," Mei explained helplessly. "They need to come off. That's what... That's what we're supposed to do... When we come in, they go off, but they won't go _off."_

 _God,_ Yuzu wished she had thought to record this. Mei was incomprehensibly _adorable_ as she plucked at the slippers, grunting as the material escaped right through her fingers.

"Here, Mei, sit down," Yuzu spoke, guiding Mei gently to the floor. While the younger's butt plopped against the wooden surface, Yuzu collected herself more gracefully beside her. She dragged Mei's legs closer to herself; and then, with one smooth upward movement, pulled the slippers off.

"There we go," Yuzu commented, as if to a child, before leaning over to place the pair near the door.

A pregnant pause followed, and then, in a hushed voice: "You're amazing."

Mei sat aghast at Yuzu's absolutely _flawless_ ability to slip off her footwear. She couldn't pry her eyes from her feet, as if in shock that the slippers could even come _off_ with how much difficulty she had been having.

"Nah, you're just all woozy," Yuzu replied. She cupped Mei's chin, drawing her attention over. Once Mei's eyes had met hers, she placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, careful to not press too hard - but to Yuzu's horror and surprise, Mei's eyes filled with tears. It was hard to not _laugh,_ though, when everything was garbled by the wads of cotton still shoved in the back of Mei's mouth.

"You can't do that. I-I have a girlfriend. She's so wonderful," Mei sobbed (while Yuzu swallowed down her giggles; Mei had _just_ managed to call her by her name. What had happened in the last ten seconds to so thoroughly confuse her?).

But Mei was convinced the girl who had just stolen her cheek's chastity wasn't Yuzu, and she dug the heels of her palms into her eyelids to mask her sobs. "She's amazing. She can-She can take off shoes so easily."

Yuzu couldn't help it, and a bundle of laughter finally escaped. "Mei, look at me." She went to grab at Mei's wrists, to lower her hands from her face; but the younger girl pulled against the blond, intent on shielding away from such a _degenerate_ display of unrequited affection. "Hey, hey, it's okay. Look at me - please?"

There was a moment of hesitation, but Mei dislodged her palms from sticky, salty skin, and she peered up slowly at Yuzu. The older girl's smile was soft and genuine, and it grew warmer and wider as Mei finally obliged her request.

"Yuzu..." Mei murmured, eyes going wide in recognition.

" _I_ kissed you, Mei. It's okay. Promise."

Mei in response merely blinked - slowly - and furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. However, that scrutiny was swiftly broken by the sound of footsteps nearing the pair, and her attention was immediately pulled towards the new noise.

"Yuzu," her mother began, walking in from the hallway to the left, "the room is set up for Mei. I'm going to pick up her prescription for the pain relievers."

"Okay, mama," Yuzu replied, giving Ume a smile of acknowledgement before collecting herself on her feet. And then, to her woozy girlfriend, "Let's get you up, Mei." She bent down and extended her arms, gripping just behind Mei's elbows.

She tugged once before realizing, as Mei adamantly refused to help lift her own weight, that this was going to be _much_ harder than she thought.

 

* * *

 

The doctor had explained, just as Mei was gaining some semblance of coherence back from her drug-induced state, that they may have used more nitrous oxide than needed for the operation. Which explained why Mei was so loopy and why Yuzu practically had to drag her into their bedroom.

As Yuzu stepped past the threshold, her eyes were instantly caught on the large brown mass laid out on the bed.

It was a bear plush, incredibly large and unbelievably soft to the touch. A red bow tie was stitched at its neck.

Yuzu had picked it out for Mei; and with her mom's help, they had hidden it from the other girl. Surely part of Ume's preparations as Yuzu struggled with Mei's slippers had been dragging the bear into the bedroom. A cream colored blanket had been spread out atop the bear, and it was folded back to allow Mei to slip under.

"Mei, you got a new friend," Yuzu joked, setting Mei down on the edge of the bed.

"He's so big," Mei mumbled, and Yuzu was amused in the most simplistic of ways by Mei's childish demeanor. The raven-haired girl attempted to roll over and capture the bear in a hug, but Yuzu grabbed for her shoulders, hefting her back up into a sitting position.

"Mei, come here a sec," Yuzu instructed. She tilted Mei's face towards her; and, as delicately as she could, wiped at the tears staining her rosy cheeks. Mei squinted as her thumb ran directly beneath her eye. The sight brought a smile of adoration to Yuzu's lips, and she, truthfully, didn't think there was any way for Mei to get cuter than that.

"There you go. Now," Yuzu spoke as she finished clearing Mei's waterworks, "his name's Stubernic. He'll stay with you until you're feeling all better."

She lowered Mei down onto the bed, and the black-haired girl looped an arm around Stubernic's neck. Her head came to rest atop his cheek, and she released a content sigh from the very pit of her lungs as Yuzu pulled the covers up to her chest.

"He's so soft..." Mei whispered, arms going lax. She curled her legs around his body, and her eyes slid closed as a cloudy fog of sleep tugged at her eyelids.

"Mei, don't fall asleep on me just yet."

Maybe this wasn't the best idea, Yuzu mentally noted. If Mei fell asleep before taking the prescription their mother had gone out to get, she would wake up in a rather unpleasant fit of pain - and Yuzu couldn't bear to let that pass.

"Yuzu..." Mei trailed off, and Yuzu was jolted from her worries to meet Mei's searching gaze.

With small, reserved movements, the older girl slid next to Mei and set her hand atop Mei's side.

"Does it still hurt?" Yuzu murmured.

She hoped the loopy gas hadn't worn off yet, but Mei nodded, and a quiet "yes" passed her lips.

"Mama will be back soon with medicine." Yuzu began massaging Mei's side, her insides left feeling unsettled at her inability to do, well, _anything._

The younger girl was warm; and it was, at the very least, relaxing to feel each inhale and exhale from Mei against her stomach. She wouldn't have minded letting sleep consume here then and there - but there was something far more demanding than some afternoon relaxation.

"Mei, can you promise me something?" Yuzu questioned, leaning up on her free elbow to peer over Mei's shoulder. Her eyelids were precariously close to shutting, and Yuzu had to stuff down the desire to coo in adoration.

"...of course..."

"You gotta stay awake, okay? I'm gonna get you a treat, but you have to promise to stay awake for me."

Silence greeted her for a beat, then two.

Her promise wasn't upheld - verbally, at least, but by a pinkie being extended towards her.

 _"Oh, my gosh, Mei..."_ Yuzu whispered under her breath. Her heart skipped a beat, utterly and completely enthralled by how unbelievably dorky, yet adorable Mei was. Nevertheless, she hooked her pinkie around Mei's own.

When she returned with two bowls in her hand - one piled high with a Neapolitan mix of ice cream and the other empty - Mei was staring intently at the ceiling.

"Meeeiiii~" Yuzu called. The younger turned her attention towards the door lethargically, but the moment her eyes caught Yuzu's, her lips curled up into a faint smile.

"Yuzu, I stayed awake," she spoke, a hint of pride in her voice.

The blond giggled as she settled onto the bed next to Mei, one leg situated under herself and the other dangling off the side. "I'm proud of you," she spoke as she leaned back to place the full bowl on the nightstand. Upon re-affixing her gaze on Mei, she faltered, merely for a moment, because Mei had directed at her the most dopey smile the blond had ever seen adorn her face. She planted a quick, chaste kiss on Mei's forehead, mind fuzzing at how astoundingly precious this girl was to her.

Before Yuzu could let her mind wander into further embarrassing thoughts, she propped herself upright. "I brought you some ice cream, but we need to take that cotton out first."

"Huh?" Mei questioned. Her head lolled across Stubernic's face as she fixated her dazed eyes on the empty bowl in Yuzu's hand.

"Sit up, we gotta get that junk out of your mouth." Despite her instruction, Mei remained un-moving; and despite that complete lack of reaction, Yuzu could only laugh. "I gotcha," she corrected before hauling Mei back up by the shoulders.

But as soon as Mei was upright once more, Yuzu stalled. Mei was a bumbling mess, barely-lucid as the remainder of the nitrous oxide worked through her system. Could Yuzu really expect her to dig around and pull out wads of bloody junk that she didn't even know were jammed into her gums? Did she want to risk Mei messing something up as she fished around for the cotton?

"Uh... Mei? Can you pull the cotton out? It's in the back corners, so, you know, just..." She trailed off, just as Mei's face was warped into an adorably confused expression.

Yuzu sighed, even as a smile tugged at her lips. She was resigned to her fate, her terrible, horrible fate of pulling the cotton balls out of Mei's mouth herself. Her eyes glided down to the empty bowl where the clumps of fuzz would go. The nasty...bloody... _wet_ clumps of fuzz.

"Mei, I wouldn't do this for anyone else, but I love you, more than _anything_ in the world, so..." Yuzu gulped, fingers shaking as she approached her so-called _fate._

 

* * *

 

"Say, _'ahhhh,'"_ Yuzu cooed, raising the spoonful of chocolate ice cream up to Mei's lips as if she were two years old and couldn't possibly feed herself.

...

In all honesty, Yuzu noted, she probably couldn't.

But to her surprise, the younger girl complied, lips parting for Yuzu to slip the spoon into her mouth. Mei's mouth closed around the chocolatey goodness, and a satisfied sigh slipped out as Yuzu withdrew the utensil.

"Does this help the pain?" Yuzu asked, digging around in the bowl for a spoonful of strawberry.

"Yes. It's...It's cold."

"Good to hear."

Yuzu propped the silverware back up for Mei, and she once again accepted the sweet offering. Just as Yuzu had begun scooping for a spoonful of vanilla, she could vaguely make out the door to their apartment clicking open.

_"Yuzu?"_

"In here, mama!" Yuzu responded, her attention never drifting from Mei. She pushed the spoon against Mei's mouth, hoping to draw back Mei's own uncharacteristically drifting attention; but her mouth was still numb from the procedure, and she remained unresponsive. A handful of giggles sounded lightly from Yuzu. "Open up, Mei."

Screwing up her eyes at the vanilla treat as if it had offended her, Mei's lips remained sealed.

"Mei?" Yuzu questioned, snickering.

Her movements were lethargic, but Mei reached for the spoon; and Yuzu, with a tad bit of reluctance and a larger twinge of bewilderment, let Mei take it from her. She glared at the utensil, a scowl contorting her face into what Yuzu titled a most amusingly endearing expression of irritation.

But then, Mei cupped her free hand beneath the spoon and directed it right back at the Yuzu.

"Wait..." Mei muttered, slightly retracting the silverware in uncertainty, "vanilla's not... Yuzu, that's not your..."

As words failed her, Yuzu leaned forward and clamped her mouth around the spoon. She hummed in delight, a smile lighting up her face as she grabbed the utensil back from the younger girl.

"Thanks, Mei, but this is for _you,"_ Yuzu laughed.

Returning to the bowl, Yuzu scraped the remaining bits of chocolate and vanilla together. It was a drippy, soggy mess, but it was still cold, at least.

"Yuzu?"

Immediately, both girls' attention darted to the door, where their mother stood. An orange, cylindrical container was held within her palm, while the other hand was clasped around a glass of water.

"Hey, mama," Yuzu greeted. She shoveled the last spoonful of ice cream into Mei's mouth as her mother stepped into the room. With the bowl now empty, Yuzu placed it next to the other one on their nightstand; and upon turning back around, her mother had the glass outstretched for her to take.

"How're you holding up, Mei-chan?" Ume asked as she began struggling to pop the lid off the container.

"Yuzu brought me ice cream," Mei replied, her tone less formal that what she normally took with her mother. She also would have fallen back into the comfort of Stubernic, but Yuzu had secured an arm around her shoulders.

"She's in a bit of pain, but I think the coldness helped some," Yuzu more coherently explained, just as Mei grasped for Yuzu's free hand with both of her own in a show of gratitude for the sweet pain reliever.

Ume finally pried the lid off and rolled one of the white pills into her younger daughter's palm. Yuzu began to pass the glass of water towards Mei - then thought better of it. She would surely spill it on herself the moment her mind wandered, and given how fuzzy it was at the moment, that wouldn't take long.

"Take it, Mei-chan," Ume spoke. Mei proceeded to cup the capsule into her mouth, while Yuzu guided the rim of the glass to her lips, delicately tilting it back.

"Drink, Mei. I got it," Yuzu directed gingerly.

The younger girl took a few sips, downing the pill as she went. Once Yuzu had removed the glass and turned to place it on the nightstand with the other dishes, Mei took it upon herself to drop back onto Stubernic.

She curled around him once more, elbow bent on top of his stomach in a relaxed grip of comfort. Her eyes drifted shut as a contented sigh escaped from her lungs.

It was just some stupid teeth, but...Yuzu couldn't distill the worry that brought an ache upon her chest. It was easy to laugh at Mei's silly wordplay and find her childish antics adorable - but it was an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach that sought reassurance that there was truly nothing wrong except for some stupid teeth. But even that wouldn't be enough, not for Yuzu, because some "stupid teeth" were behind the aches and sores from which Mei suffered.

"Mama?" Yuzu interjected, eyes searching for her mother's own, but her words dissolved on her tongue.

Ume had already afforded her with a small, reserved smile, one of a knowing mother, one that displaced her concern in exchange for realizing that her worry, while wholly well-placed, was nothing if not completely unnecessary.

 

* * *

 

"Yuzu, Mei-chan wants you."

Yuzu scanned through the contents of the fridge, bending to get a better look towards the rear. "What for, mama?" she called back as she opened a drawer in search of some kind of snack.

But her mother replied with laughter, stepping into the kitchen. "No, sweetie, she wants _you."_

"O-Oh," Yuzu stammered, face flushing a deep red. She was glad for the cool air from the fridge, but even then her face still felt as if aflame. She kept her eyes averted to the contents of the fridge, hoping to conceal her embarrassment from her mother.

"I think her mouth is hurting pretty badly. We can't give her any more pain killers yet, so try to get her to relax, okay?" Her mother's tone was tender and kind, and she felt a calm slowly wash over her, just as how it did earlier in the car.

Yuzu realized, with her face returning to its normal color, that there was no need to get so flustered around her mother, and she closed the fridge with a snap.

"Sure thing, mama."

Her little snack could wait, she decided as she stepped around her mother and headed towards her bedroom.

She opened the door to their bedroom slowly, the inside cool and dark.

"Mei?" Yuzu began. She took a step in, then another as she realized the other girl hadn't heard her.

Once she approached the bed, she leaned over and settled her hand gently atop Mei's head, smoothing out the messy and sleep-rattled hair as best she could.

"Mei?" she tried again.

And this time, the younger girl's eyes fluttered open, violet meeting emerald through a haze of fatigue.

"Yuzu..." Mei cried softly.

"Hey, it's okay. Yuzu's here," she consoled. She crawled onto the bed, movements slow and tender as she snuggled up behind Mei. She wrapped her arms around Mei's waist and lovingly clasped her girlfriend's hand, the one situated atop Stubernic's belly, within her own. "How badly does it hurt?"

Mei nuzzled her face into the bear's cheek, and Yuzu could feel her heart break in two. "A lot." The younger girl had been so wonderfully adorable earlier, but she couldn't stand seeing Mei hurting now.

"Try to sleep. We can't give you anything else right now."

Yuzu felt...something akin to disappointment in herself for condemning Mei to the simple fact that she could do nothing more than tough it out. She wanted to do more for her, no matter how small, but...there wasn't anything she could actually do to alleviate her pain.

She began to retract her hand in want to draw the covers over herself, but Mei's hold tightened. A light tug knowingly pulled the corners of Yuzu's lips up.

She could go without a blanket for now.

"I'm not going anywhere, Mei. I'm staying right here with you."

She scooched closer, molding herself to Mei's back, and rubbed her thumb across Mei's knuckle.

"Yuzu..." Mei released her name in an exhale, her muscles unwinding within the older girl's embrace.

"Do you need something?"

"...Do you want to know a secret?"

By the tone of her voice, Yuzu could glean that the nitrous oxide had worn off. The new medicine may have left her drowsy, but she certainly was not inebriated like earlier.

A smile blossomed on her lips. "Sure."

Silence invaded the space between their words; and Yuzu was tempted to lean over her girlfriend to see if sleep had claimed her. But then, Mei shied away into Stubernic, and she spoke into the tufts of his plushy material: "You're amazing at taking off slippers."

_"Oh my God, Mei!"_

Laughter poured from Yuzu's lips, unrestrained and visceral enough to bring tears to her eyes.

 _"That's_ your secret?"

She was caught up in the bubbles of joy rising about her chest, and it came as a surprise to find Mei turn to face her. The younger girl lazily hung an arm around Yuzu's shoulder, her free hand maintaining hold on older girl's own.

Her violet eyes dipped closed as she brought their foreheads together, and Yuzu silenced her giggles, relishing in the contact.

"No."

"No? Then what is it?"

A pause, just long enough for Mei to exhale softly, a tiny curve of her lips igniting a pleasant warmth in the depth of Yuzu's chest, and then,

"...I love you."

And Yuzu couldn't control herself as she tilted her chin forward, capturing Mei's lips with her own.

It was gentle, more gentle than she probably had to be, but she adamantly refused to jar something unpleasant within Mei's mouth.

"Yuzu..."

_Oh, God._

Yuzu felt her heart melt into a puddle of goop within her rib cage. Mei was hanging precariously close to that delirious cusp of unconsciousness, and the amount of times that Yuzu had felt her heart clench and come abuzz in elation that day alone at how adorable her girlfriend was had left her wondering if she should get the overworked organ checked out.

"Mmm?" Yuzu dreamily hummed in response.

"My lips are numb."

And she giggled, lightly, deciding that, as she planted her lips softly against Mei's cheek where the younger girl could actually feel her, these kisses were more than good enough for now.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I broke the trend of titling my Citrus fics as the last couple of words from the story itself - but that's okay because this time I tried my hands at...somewhat of a plot, haha. I mentioned in my last fic's notes that I struggle with writing smoothly when a real plot is involved, so this was partially a challenge for me and partially an excuse to write more Citrus.
> 
> Stubernic here was inspired by artwork by an artist on Twitter called glidesloe. This person has done some AMAZING drawings; so if you haven't seen their stuff before, I would totally recommend it! https://twitter.com/glidesloe/status/977719683888463872
> 
> The name "Stubernic" itself comes from a trio marimba piece that I had the honor of playing a few years ago. Look it up if you're interested in that kind of stuff!
> 
> Anyway, thanks for checking out my work! I hope you have enjoyed reading! :)


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